White Wooden Box

White Wooden Box

On March 1, 1945, the Navy undertook a reorganization of its air groups to prepare for the decisive battle on the mainland. Worthy of special mention is that crew training was suspended, and flight training units were converted into operational units. Also, they converted training planes used until then for practice flights. They organized the flight instructors responsible for instructional training into special attack units, which were ordered to make body-crashing attacks.

Although men were in the same flight training group, they did training using several regular planes such as fighters, carrier attack bombers, and carrier dive bombers. Although the planes were somewhat old, they could handle actual fighting without changes since they were planes originally built for this purpose. However, it was madness to round up even intermediate training planes called Akatonbo (Red Dragonfly) and training planes used to train observers.

In this reorganization, special attack units were formed with Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum) crew training planes at the air bases at Suzuka, Ooi, Tokushima, and Kochi, where they had responsibility for training observers. These were the so-called Shiragiku Special Attack Units.

The Shiragiku Special Attack Units, which used Shiragiku trainers loaded with two 250-kg bombs, began intensive training mainly for night attacks. It was decided that daytime sorties were impracticable since the Shiragiku trainers could only fly at a maximum speed of 90 knots when loaded with two bombs.

On May 20 nighttime sorties became possible through intensive training, and they were assigned to active service based on an order from the Combined Fleet. The Wakagiku (Young Chrysanthemum) Squadron (Suzuka Air Base) and the Yashima (old name for Japan) Squadron (Ooi Air Base) were assigned to the Third Air Fleet responsible for the Kanto region. They continued further training as they waited for a special attack assignment. On the other hand, two squadrons that belonged to the Fifth Air Fleet handling Okinawa and Kyushu went on to sortie bases. The Tokushima Shiragiku Squadron (Tokushima Air Base) proceeded to Kushira Air Base, and in the same way the Kikusui Shiragiku Squadron (Kochi Air Base) went to Kanoya Air Base. Together they completed their sortie preparation.

Beginning with the Kikusui Operation No. 7 of May 24 and continuing to the Kikusui Operation No. 10 of June 25, 118 Shiragiku planes carried out body-crashing attacks. More than 230 precious lives were lost. Classmates Yukio Masuda (Miyazaki Prefecture, 17 years old) and Shigeru Haruki (Aichi Prefecture, 19 years old) belonged to the Kikusui Shiragiku Squadron formed at Kochi Air Base, and they took off on attacks from which they would not return.

Shiragiku, crew training plane

Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki, Commander in Chief of the Fifth Air Fleet, wrote in his diary the following about the situation at the time:

Friday, May 15, cloudy

The planes departed to attack the ships around Okinawa, and among them were mixed some Shiragiku trainers. The enemy transmitted a message saying that Japanese planes flying at 85 to 90 knots were following the destroyers. The staff officers laughed, saying that the destroyers were chasing the Japanese planes traveling at 80 or 90 knots.

The point has been reached when we must assign training planes due to the shortage of planes for use in special attack operations. In nighttime even a rabbit cannot win if it meets an enemy night fighter. Therefore, training planes must be flown very well to use them. The number of planes is sufficient, but great results are not expected.

These are probably the true feelings of Commander Ugaki, who ordered the body-crashing attacks. As even the Shiragiku trainers were being gathered together for special attacks, he thought, "The number of planes is sufficient, but great results are not expected." Believing in winning at any cost, he sacrificed our bodies, and these spirits of the war dead who perished for our country are no longer here.

Petty Officer 1st Class Yukio Masuda of the Kikusui Shiragiku Squadron departed from Kanoya Air Base at 7:10 p.m. on May 27, 1945. He carried out a body-crashing attack against the enemy fleet off Kadena and became a cornerstone in the defense of the fatherland.

At the beginning of May 1946 a white wooden box arrived at the home of Miki Masuda, living in Miyakonojo City in Miyazaki Prefecture. Nearly one year had passed already since her oldest son Yukio had died in battle. No remains, no mementos, nothing was inside the box.

In August 1943, Yukio Masuda entered Naval Flight Training School upon leaving the former Miyakonojo Middle School. After graduation from the Naval Flight Training Program, he acquired skills in reconnaissance and communications and transferred to Shanghai Air Base. In September 1944, when he graduated from flight training, he was assigned to Kochi Air Base and was called on to provide guidance as an instructor to those with less experience.

At the beginning of March 1945, the forces at Kochi Air Base were reorganized into operational units, and special attack units were formed. Special attack training using the Shiragiku trainers began. On May 20, they advanced to Kanoya Air Base when ordered to participate in operations.

The Kikusui No. 1 Shiragiku Squadron, which received an order to sortie, lifted off from Kanoya Air Base at midnight on May 27 and departed toward Okinawa skies on an attack of no return.

Prior to his sortie, Yukio was allowed to return home for a short time. They say that he showed a cheerful look to his mother Miki as he said, "Surely I will attack and defeat the enemy. This may be my final farewell." He was born on October 20, 1927, and at that time his age was 17 years, 7 months.

According to records at the Japanese Defense Agency's Military History Archives, twenty planes of the Kikusui No. 1 Shiragiku Squadron commanded by Lieutenant Junior Grade Shigeru Kawada sortied on May 27 from 6:48 to 7:37 p.m. and carried out body-crashing attacks. Their crews died for an eternal cause.

According to investigations after the end of the war, they sunk the destroyer Drexler and damaged nine ships including the Southard. Only 20 Shiragiku planes of the Kikusui No. 1 Shiragiku Squadron sortied that night, so there is no doubt about all their military achievements.

On June 25, 1945, Petty Officer 1st Class Shigeru Haruki, who belonged to the Kikusui No. 3 Shiragiku Squadron, sortied from Kanoya Air Base and carried out a body-crashing attack against the enemy fleet off Okinawa. After this final sortie, the special attack operations toward Okinawa by the Shiragiku were stopped.

The manner of the sortie of Petty Officer 1st Class Haruki, who died an honorable death at the rear of the Shiragiku Special Attack Unit, was as follows. Okinawa had already suffered an honorable defeat, so a feeling spread at the bases that at that late hour special attacks should be undertaken. All three planes that had sortied on the previous day (June 24) were returning.

On June 25, the Kikusui No. 3 Shiragiku Squadron planned sorties of five planes, including the three from the prior day. Three planes departed between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. However, that day also all of the planes came back. The plane piloted by Haruki had to turn back due to an oil leak. He encouraged the maintenance personnel to speed up the repairs.

Haruki shook off the squad commander trying to dissuade him with the following words, "It's OK not to leave now! Wait for the next chance!" Haruki's plane took off alone and left for the skies of Okinawa without any hesitation.

On June 26 at 12:18 a.m., there was a telegraphic transmission from Haruki's plane, "I am now diving. Yuta, yuta, yuta." This phrase meant "I will crash into a transport ship." This farewell transmission was typed out by his observer, Petty Officer 2nd Class Takeshi Iwashita, who was from the 13th class of the Ko Flight Training Program.

Petty Officer 1st Class Haruki was in the same 22nd squad as I was during the Naval Flight Training Program, and he belonged to section 6, the one next to mine. He had a strong sense of justice, and he also possessed a good sense of responsibility. His behavior was always positive. When friction occurred between squads and units, he was a person who made his presence felt and acted as mediator. It is not an accident that he left his name as the last person in the Shiragiku Special Attack Unit to make a dive.

Crew Members - No. 1 Shiragiku Squadron, Kikusui Unit

1	Pilot - Lieutenant Junior Grade Shigeru Kawada (Hokkaido, 13th Class, Hokkaido Teachers' College) Observer - Petty Officer 1st Class Yukio Masuda (Miyazaki, 12th Class, Ko Flight Training Program)
2	Pilot - Petty Officer 2nd Class Masao Yokoyama (Osaka, 1st Class, Special Otsu Flight Training Program) Observer - Petty Officer 1st Class Takao Hashimoto (Osaka, 18th Class, Otsu Flight Training Program)
3	Pilot - Petty Officer 1st Class Sakuzo Konno (Miyagi, 17th Class, Hei Flight Training Program) Observer - Petty Officer 2nd Class Tsuneji Shimada (Miyazaki, 13th Class, Ko Flight Training Program)
4	Pilot - Petty Officer 2nd Class Masato Hatanaka (Hiroshima, 1st Class, Special Otsu Flight Training Program) Observer - Ensign Tamotsu Watase (Tokyo, 13th Class, Nihon University)
5	Pilot - Ensign Tetsuya Iwasaki (Hyogo, 13th Class, Doshisha University) Observer - Petty Officer 2nd Class Shigeo Kawamoto (Yamaguchi, 2nd Class, Special Otsu Flight Training Program)
6	Pilot - Ensign Katsumi Shinobe (Hyogo, 13th Class, Osaka Technical College) Observer - Petty Officer 2nd Class Shizuo Kitoh (Saga, 13th Class, Ko Flight Training Program)
7	Pilot - Chief Petty Officer Shigeo Ichihara (Kanagawa, 13th Class, Naval Reserve Training Program) Observer - Lieutenant Junior Grade Kyohei Nawano (Tokyo, 73rd Class, Naval Academy)
8	Pilot - Petty Officer 1st Class Shinshiro Sato (Miyagi, 17th Class, Hei Flight Training Program) Observer - Petty Officer 1st Class Hiroshi Andoh (Shizuoka, 13th Class, Ko Flight Training Program)
9	Pilot - Ensign Yukio Makinouchi (Tokyo, 14th Class, Waseda University) Observer - Petty Officer 2nd Class Haruo Gotoh (Kumamoto, 13th Class, Ko Flight Training Program)
Crew Members - No. 3 Shiragiku Squadron, Kikusui Unit
1	Pilot - Petty Officer 1st Class Shigeru Haruki (Aichi, 12th Class, Ko Flight Training Program) Observer - Petty Officer 2nd Class Takeshi Iwashita (Kanagawa, 13th Class, Ko Flight Training Program)

Translated by Bill Gordon
April 11, 2004